We're not sure whether this commercial reaffirms the uselessness of printed newspapers or somehow explains why a recently launched newspaper called The Baltimore Examiner is so much better than your average newspaper. The new publication is owned by Clarity Media and will publish six times per week.

In a bid to get hired into the ad agency world right out of college, NYIT student Brittney placed an ad in the New York Times telling Donny Deutsch she'll be graduating May 20, 2007. Hmm...just where does a college student get enough money to place an ad in the Times? And why does she look way too model-perfect? And why would she do it one year earlier than she needs to? Something smells here. Oh wait, it's an ad for NYIT. There we go.

No matter. In an effort to provide the poor child who is about to enter one of the most cut throat, cynical vacuous business in the world, Copyranter offers some advice writing, "What Brittney hasn't put together yet is that Douche, Inc. is a shithole of a sweat shop that is coming off another shit year. Brittney, have you seen the inside of Douche's agency? It's an ugly macho concrete tomb. The days of those cute IKEA TV spots are looooong gone." Hmm, indeed. Yes, this definitely sounds like something other than a college student looking for a job.

Copyranter points out an Alstate ad that appeared in tuesday's Wall Street Journal that showed a snow globe version of San Fransico with a $400 billion price tag attached to it. Apparently, while that seems low, that's the price to rebuild San Francisco after an earthquake of 1906 proportions. The headline reads, "If San Francisco had the same size quake as in 1906, it could cost $400 billion to rebuild." Whille Allstate may want San Francisco residents to feel as though they are in good hands, that's not exactly the most comforting method to do so. Although it certainly gets one thinking about just how much insurance one should have when living on a fault line.

To help drum up awareness for the Hartford's Camp Courant, a free camp for kids from the city, Adams & Knight Advertising developed a pro-bono print campaign which is running in the Hartford Courant, space donated b y the paper. It's your basic feel good campaign and with all the trashing we all seem to love to do around here, let's just be happy for this one. See all the ads here.

Adrants reader Jamie wonders what's up today with the word "yes" in the Wall Street Journal today, writing, "What's the deal with pgs A10, A11 & A13 of today's Wall Street Journal? Hilton, GM and Sprint. All 1/2 or full page ads with the word 'yes' big and bold in the headline. Is there something I should be reading into here? Is 'yes' the new "it" word in advertising?"

Pure coincidence? Anyone from the WSJ, Hilton, GM or Sprint care to comment?

Putting aside the fact a publisher can accept or reject any ad they choose for any reason whether they agree with the ad's message or not, human rights activists are not pleased with The New York Times' decision to take $929,000 from Sudan for an eight page insert touting the country's "peaceful, prosperous and democratic future. On one hand you can say this is wrong because it attempts to glorify what many, including the Times itself, feel is a not so nice government. On the other hand, you can laud the move as a clear separation of church and state between the paper's editorial and its advertising, the kind of thing American's love to celebrate.

By making people feel like they waste too much time sleeping by presenting them with long lists of books they've likely never read (but should have) or places they've likely never traveled to (but should have), Leo Burnett Lisbon, for its client Heredia coffee, tags these ads with, "You lose 1/3 of your life sleeping. time to wake up." See the other ad here.

CitySpecific points out an ad for HBO's polygamy-themed Big Love placed in the New York Times wedding announcement section. The ad shows Big Love star Bill Paxton in three separate wedding announcements with his three brides played by Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloe Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin. CitySpecific questions the Times acceptance of this ad but we think it's just another inevitable sign of things to come.

This campaign for LA Weekly's been running a bit and we've all seen the image of Vampire Bush but we thought we'd pull it together for you and show the other images from the campaign that endeavor to "provoke thought, stir controversy and encourage conversation." The images, which range from global to local, are running in the paper, have been affixed to the paper's sidewalk dispenser and have been wild posted around the city. See four of the images here.

Adrants reader John Brock sends us this precious example of how not to use slang in advertsing. Massachusetts discount chain Building 19 ran an ad in a flyer promoting wife-beater t-shirts. Oops. Out came the cause groups on that one with Jane Do Inc. spokewoman telling Boston's WCVB, ""I can't say what I thought. I know what I thought, but I can't say out loud what I thought." We know what she thought: "You chauvinistic asswipes! How the fuck could you degrade women so harshly glamorizing low life, trailer park scum who beat the shit out of their wives on a daily basis?"

Building 19 apologies came fast from spokesman Jerry Ellis who said, "They were right. It was awful and I am sorry it happened. It's a slang expression, a street expression, but we should have known better not to use it. I am supposed to read every word. Sometimes it's busy or I am lazy. We are working on a retraction." Refreshingly, that comment definitely didn't go through the press release filter.